The present invention relates to cartons and more particularly to a self-locking, reclosable carton preferably made froma one piece blank of containerboard or other suitable material.
One or two piece containerboard cartons are used to ship and store many different products, including pre-wrapped frozen sandwiches and fresh produce. Where products such as those described above are involved, there is no sanitary reason why a carton cannot be reused since the products are either sealed before they are loaded into the carton or are washed as a matter of routine after they are removed from the carton. However, prior art cartons have not been designed with reusability in mind. Prior art two piece cartons generally include a lid which, when once removed, becomes torn or crushed making it unsuitable for reuse. One piece cartons have generally been provided with a sealed top which is removed using a sharp knife. Of course, once the top of the carton is cut off, the carton cannot be reused.
Moreover, known prior art cartons have generally been simple rectangular boxes desired stacking strength. Finally, when one piece cartons are employed, the carton is generally not suitable for continued storage once it has been opened since the remaining contents are no longer adequately protected.